Installation for the automatic removal and reception of loads through the intermediary of transport vehicles

ABSTRACT

The transport installation comprises a reception station and a transport vehicle between which a load can be displaced in a horizontal plane by movement of the vehicle. To avoid the necessity of raising the transport vehicle or of having recourse to an auxiliary vehicle, an endless conveyor, extending in the direction of displacement of the transport vehicle is provided at the reception station. The endless conveyor comprises a horizontal portion for receiving the load and this portion is preceded by a downwardly inclined portion intersecting the horizontal plane along which the load can be transported. At least one drive wheel, co-operating with a corresponding drive element carried by the transport vehicle, is provided at the reception station for driving the endless conveyor at the same time as the transport vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and improved installation for theautomatic removal and reception of loads through the intermediary oftransport vehicles, in which by means of the movement of a transportvehicle displaced relatively to a reception station, a loadtransportable in a horizontal plane by the transport vehicle can beremoved from the transport vehicle and be placed on the receptionstation and/or vice-versa.

In installations of such type the movement of the transporting vehiclesolely determines the removal of the load from the vehicle and itsdeposition at a reception station or vice versa. This has the advantageof reducing the risk that a displacement in the longitudinal directionmay be produced between the transported load and the transport vehicleduring the above-mentioned operations.

One known installation of this type, more precisely intended for theautomatic reception of pallets from transport wagons, on two parallelroller paths disposed stationarily at a reception station, isillustrated in published German patent application No. 1 943 854. Inthis installation, each transport wagon is equipped with verticalsupports, on which the load may be placed in such a way that it can beraised. By means of the access ramp of a stationary platform disposed atthe reception station along the path of the wagon, the transport wagonis raised until the load which it carries is situated above the tworoller tracks. During the descending movement of the wagon as it leavesthe platform the load is released and comes to rest upon the rollers ofthe two roller tracks.

Due to the fact that the transport vehicle and the transported load haveto be raised together each time by the ramp of the platform, such aninstallation is not very well adapted for the removal and reception ofheavy loads. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that the platform,for which a horizontal reception portion and two inclined portionsrespectively for access and departure are necessary, appreciablyincreases the length of the installation, the more so when the loadstransported are of great length. Finally, this type of installationwould scarcely be suitable if the operations were to be reversed, thatis if the load had to be removed from the roller tracks and be depositedupon the transport wagon. In this case, it is the transport wagon which,during an ascending movement, would have to entrain with it thehorizontally disposed load. Such an operation could only be carried outwith the aid of appropriate entraining elements, and the load would haveto be placed on each occasion upon the transport tracks with greatprecision relative to the platform.

In another installation, shown in British Pat. No. 249 685, loads to betransferred from a transport vehicle to a reception station have to becarried by the intermediary of an auxiliary vehicle itself disposed uponthe transport vehicle. During the displacement of the transport vehiclerelative to the reception station, the wheels of the auxiliary vehicleengage upon the inclined ends of rails provided at the reception stationand upon which the auxiliary vehicle and the loads which it carries canbe placed.

Apart from the fact that it neccessitates the use of an auxiliaryvehicle this installation demands that the transport vehicle shall beequipped with retaining elements capable of being automatically engagedor disengaged according to whether the auxiliary vehicle is to beentrained by the transport vehicle or released.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, with the foregoing in mind it is a primary object of thepresent invention to provide an improved installation for the automaticremoval and reception of loads through the intermediary of transportvehicles which is of a relatively simple construction and neitherrequires a raising of the transport vehicle nor the use of an auxiliaryvehicle carried thereby.

Now in order to implement these and still further objects of theinvention, which will become more readily apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the installation of the present development is manifested bythe features that, an endless conveyor is provided at the receptionstation and is carried by a stationary frame and extends in thedirection of the transport vehicle displacement. The endless conveyorcomprises a substantially horizontal load transport portion forreception of the load and is preceded by a downwardly inclined loadtransport or transfer portion which intersects the horizontal plane inwhich the load can be transported by the transport vehicle. At thereception station there is provided at least one drive wheel which isrotationally entrained by a drive element during horizontal displacementof the transport vehicle relative to the reception station. The driveelement is carried by the transport vehicle and extends longitudinallyof the direction of displacement. The endless conveyor can be entrainedby the at least one drive wheel during movement of the transport vehicleand is then moved in the same direction and at the same speed as thetransport vehicle.

By the fact that it employs an endless conveyor which, on the one hand,possesses an inclined portion capable, depending upon the particularcase, of raising or lowering the load and, on the other hand, is drivenby the transport vehicle, the installation according to the presentinvention not only has the advantage of demanding only a singlehorizontal movement of the transport vehicle, but it also enables thenecessity of equipping the transport vehicle with pushing and/orretaining elements acting upon the load during the operations to beavoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those setforth above, will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a first embodiment of a transportinstallation according to the invention and shows a load carryingvehicle thereof;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic front view of a load reception station in thetransport installation as shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrammatic side views of the transportationinstallation as shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the displacement of theload from the transport vehicle to the reception station and from thereception station to the transport vehicle, respectively;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a second embodiment of thetransport installation according to the invention incorporatingtrack-suspended transport vehicles and illustrates the removal of a loadfrom a transport vehicle to a reception station; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic side view of the transport installation asshown in FIG. 5 and illustrates the displacement of the load from thereception station to the transport vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Describing now the drawings, it is to be understood that only enough ofthe construction of the transport installation has been shown as neededfor those skilled in the art to readily understand the underlyingprinciples and concepts of the present development, while simplifyingthe showing of the drawings. Turning attention now specifically to FIGS.1 to 4, reference 1 denotes the floor level of a construction on whichthe transport vehicle 2 is required to move for the purpose ofautomatically transferring loads 3 from the transport vehicle 2 to areception station 4 or vice versa. The displacement of the transportvehicle 2 is carried out by drive means consisting, for example, of anautonomous drive installation possibly remotely controlled and equippedwith a power source which is likewise autonomous or common to severalvehicles, or again of a drive installation common to a set of transportvehicles. Such drive means, which are not directly involved in thepresent invention, have not been illustrated here.

At the upper part 2.1 of the chassis of the transport vehicle 2, thereis provided a load support 5 which extends symmetrically to thelongitudinal axis of the transport vehicle 2, and upon which a load 3can be deposited and transported by the vehicle in a horizontal plane,in other words parallel to the ground surface 1, the width of the loadsupport 5 being less than the width of the transported load 3. The upperpart 2.1 of the chassis of the transport vehicle 2 is furthermoreequipped with two toothed racks 6, which extend on either side of theload support 5 along the entire length of the transport vehicle 2, thatis to say longitudinally to the direction of movement of this vehicle.

The reception station 4 (FIG. 2) comprises a stationary frame 7,composed of two parallel elements fixed to the ground 1, between whichthe transport vehicle 2 is required to move. Between the two elements ofthe stationary frame 7 and extending in the direction of movement of thetransport vehicle 2, there is disposed an endless chain conveyor 8comprising two identical conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2, parallel with eachother, each carried by one of the elements of the stationary frame 7 andcapable of being driven together in a manner which will be describedlater on. The two conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2 are carried in a similarmanner by the respective element of the stationary frame 7, each bymeans of two chain return wheels 9, 10 and one guide wheel 11 (FIG. 3and 4). The axle of the chain wheel 9 situated at the approach or loadtransfer side for the transport vehicle 2 is disposed lower than theaxles of the other two wheels 10 and 11, in such a way that the endlessconveyor 8 composed to the two chains 8.1, 8.2 possesses, in thedirection of load transfer to or approach of the transport vehicle, adownwardly inclined load transfer portion 8.3 preceding a horizontalload bearing portion 8.4 (FIG. 3 and 4).

The length of the inclined load transfer portion 8.3 is established insuch a manner that this inclined portion shall intersect the horizontalplane along which the load 3 can be transported by the transport vehicle2, in other words the horizontal plane followed by the base 3.1 of theload 3. The lower sides 8.5 of the two conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2furthermore lie above the horizontal plane of movement of the twotoothed racks 6, and the distance separating the two conveyor chains8.1, 8.2 from each other is greater than the width occupied by the tworacks 6, and therefore than the width of the load support 5, whereas itis less than the width of the load 3.

The synchronized drive of the two conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2 is obtainedby means of a pair of drive mechanisms each constituted of a chain wheel12 which actuates the lower side 8.5 of one of the conveyor chains 8.1,8.2 and is disposed coaxially with a toothed wheel 13, by which it canbe rotationally driven. The horizontal axle common to the chain wheel 12and to the toothed wheel 13 of each drive mechanism is situated lowerthan the lower side 8.5 of the conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2, and eachtoothed wheel 13 is disposed upon the axle in such a way as to becapable of engaging with one of the toothed racks 6 when the transportvehicle 2 moves relative to the stationary frame 7. Thus, during theentry of the transport vehicle 2 between the elements of the stationaryframe 7 and during its departure from the latter, the two toothed wheels13 are rotationally driven by the drive elements constituted by the tworacks 6. Due to that fact that the chain wheels 12 act upon the lowerside 8.5 of the conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2, these chains can be displacedtogether, at the same time as the transport vehicle 2 and in the samedirection. The dimensioning of the chain wheels 12 and of the toothedwheel 13 is moreover established in such a manner that the displacementof the conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2 takes place at the speed of displacementof the transport vehicle 2. Preferably, the axles of the chain wheels 12and toothed wheels 13 are carried by the stationary frame 7 through theintermediary of pivoting arms 14, by means of which the set of teeth ofthe toothed wheels 13 can be placed slightly lower down than that of thetoothed racks 6 and the conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2 can thereby besubjected to a tension during the movement of the transport vehicle 2.

In the diagrammatic representations of FIGS. 3 and 4 the elements of thestationary frame 7 have been omitted to improve clarity. FIG. 3 showsthat, during the displacement of the transport vehicle 2 in thedirection of the arrow, that is to say between the two elements of thestationary frame 7, the load 3 will be raised starting from its frontportion by the inclined load transfer portion 8.3 of the endlessconveyor 8 and will be displaced at the same time as the transportvehicle 2. At the end of travel, the load 3 will be supported only bythe horizontal load bearing portion 8.4 of the conveyor, which thereforeconstitutes a reception portion for the load. Inversely, as shown inFIG. 4, the load 3 disposed upon the horizontal portion 8.4 of theendless conveyor 8 will be lowered by the inclined portion 8.3 andplaced upon the load support 5 of the transport vehicle 2 during thedisplacement of the latter in the opposite direction.

The installation according to the present invention therefore permits,at will, a load situated upon a transport vehicle to be raised and to bedeposited upon a reception station or the inverse operations to becarried out, this being achieved by the movement of the vehicle aloneand without it being necessary either to raise the transport vehicle orto have recourse to an auxiliary vehicle.

Advantageously, for the purpose of permitting the transport vehicle 2 tobe introduced between the elements of the stationary frame 7 or to bemoved away from the latter without the endless conveyor 8 being moved,the installation may be equipped with one or more free-wheel clutchmechanisms 28. Such mechanisms are, for example, disposed between eachchain wheel 12 and the associated toothed wheel 13 and could be manuallyor automatically controlled.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show also that a conveyor track, automatic or not, such asa second endless conveyor 25, may be disposed close to the receptionstation 4 for conveying away or bringing up to the reception station 4loads 3, for example for the purpose of supplying or clearing workingstations. For this purpose, a supplementary drive device capable ofdriving the endless conveyor 8 without the intervention of the transportvehicle 2 should be provided. This device, which has not beenillustrated here, could be composed of drive motors associatedrespectively with one of the chain return wheels 9 or 10 and be capableof driving, when applicable, the endless conveyor 8 at the same speed asthe second endless conveyor 25. If necessary, a free-wheel clutchmechanism could also be associated with this device.

In the second form of embodiment of the invention, illustrateddiagrammatically in FIGS. 5 and 6, the transport vehicle used for thetransporting of a load 15 is a transport trolley 16 of a suspended trackrailway installation. The transport trolley 16, which travels on a guiderail 17, is equipped with attachment devices composed of pivoting hooks18 to which the load can be hooked through the intermediary of eyes 19.For driving an endless conveyor 20, carried by a stationary frame, notillustrated here, of a reception station 26 and possessing in accordancewith this invention an inclined load transfer portion 20.1 intersectingthe horizontal plane along which the load 15 is conveyed and ahorizontal load bearing portion 20.2 serving for receiving the load,toothed racks 21 are provided on the frame of the transport trolley 16.The driving of the endless conveyor 20 from the movement of thetransport trolley 16 is in this case carried out through theintermediary of drive mechanisms comprising drive wheels 22 which engagewith the toothed racks 21 and which, through the intermediary of chainwheels and drive chains 23, rotationally drive guide wheels 24constituted as chain wheels actuating the endless conveyor 20. Thepositon in height of the horizontal portion 20.2 of the endless conveyor20 is arranged in such a way that once the load 15 has been placed uponthis horizontal portion during its reception (FIG. 5) or for the purposeof its removal (FIG. 6), the mobile hooks 18 are automaticallydisengaged from the eyes 19. For this purpose, a device for actuatingthe hooks, constituted of a stationary cam 27, is provided at thereception station. Such a device could equally well consist of one ormore motors disposed upon the transport trolley 16 and operatedseparately or by stationary switching means provided at the receptionstation.

It is self-evident that other forms of embodiment can be envisagedwithin the scope of the invention. Thus the two conveyor chains 8.1, 8.2forming the endless conveyor 8 could be connected together and be drivenfrom the rotation of a single drive wheel 13. Similarly, instead ofconveyor chains, other conveying elements such as endless conveyor beltsor any other conveying element of similar functioning could be used andthe endless conveyor might comprise one only of these conveying elementsdriven from the rotation of a single drive wheel or two drive wheels.Finally, the driving by mating or meshing of forms envisaged for thedrive wheel could be replaced by a friction drive, the drive wheel orwheels being friction wheels entrained by a corresponding frictionsurface provided on the transport vehicle as the driving element. Inthis case, a variation of the friction as a function of the load and,consequently, an elimination of the risks of slipping could be obtainedby disposing the drive wheel or wheels, as already explained, on tensionarms and/or by arranging the endless conveyor assembly to pivot slightlyupon the stationary frame.

While there are shown and described present preferred embodiments of theinvention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is notlimited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practicedwithin the scope of the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A transport installation for automatic displacement ofloads, comprising:at least one driveable transport vehicle; at least onereception station defining a load transfer side; said at least onetransport vehicle being driveable for substantially horizontaldisplacement in two opposing directions for load transfer at said atleast one reception station; said at least one driveable transportvehicle being equipped with load support means defining a substantiallyhorizontal plane for a load to be transported by said driveabletransport vehicle; said at least one transport vehicle comprising aconveyor drive element extending thereat in the direction of saidsubstantially horizontal displacement; said at least one receptionstation comprising a stationary frame and an endless conveyor supportedat said stationary frame; said endless conveyor comprising asubstantially horizontally extending load bearing portion and adownwardly inclined load transfer portion on said load transfer side ofsaid at least one reception station; said load transfer portionextending below said horizontal plane defined by said support means atsaid at least one driveable transport vehicle; whereby said load may belifted off said support means when said vehicle travels in a firsthorizontal direction or delivered onto said support means when thevehicle travels in a second horizontal direction opposite the first;said at least one reception station further comprising conveyor drivemeans; said conveyor drive means defining a first end which is drivinglyconnected to said endless conveyor and a second end which is drivinglyconnectable to said conveyor drive element at said at least onedriveable transport vehicle; and said conveyor drive element at said atleast one driveable transport vehicle being drivingly connected to saidsecond end of said conveyor drive means during the load transfer at saidat least one reception station in a preselected one of said two opposingdirections of substantially horizontal displacement of said at least onedriveable transport vehicle in order to drive said load transfer portionand said load bearing portion of said endless conveyor at said at leastone reception station in the same direction and at the same speed assaid at least one transport vehicle is driven.
 2. The transportinstallation as defined in claim 1, wherein:said conveyor drive means atsaid at least one reception station comprises at least one toothed wheelat said second end thereof; said conveyor drive element at said at leastone driveable transport vehicle extending in the direction of saidhorizontal displacement of said transport vehicle and comprising atleast one toothed rack; and said at least one toothed wheel of saidconveyor drive means being drivingly connected to said at least onetoothed rack at said at least one driveable transport vehicle duringsaid load transfer at said at least one reception station.
 3. Thetransport installation as defined in claim 2, wherein:said at least onetoothed wheel at said second end of said conveyor drive means and saidat least one toothed rack at said at least one driveable transportvehicle being disposed below said inclined load transfer portion of saidendless conveyor; said endless conveyor defines a bottom side remotefrom said load transfer portion and said load bearing portion thereof;and said first end of said conveyor drive means being drivinglyconnected to said bottom side of said endless conveyor.
 4. The transportinstallation as defined in claim 3, wherein:said endless conveyorcomprises a chain conveyor including at least one conveying chain whichextends in the direction of said horizontal displacement of said atleast one driveable transport vehicle; said first end of said conveyordrive means comprising at least one chain drive wheel drivinglyconnected to said at least one conveying chain; and said at least onechain drive wheel and said at least one toothed wheel being coaxiallyarranged with respect to each other.
 5. The transport installation asdefined in claim 4, wherein:said support means at said at least onedriveable transport vehicle having a predetermined width; said chainconveyor comprises two conveying chains; said two conveying chains beingspaced by an amount exceeding the width of said support means at said atleast one driveable transport vehicle and their related load bearingportions extending in said horizontal plane defined by said supportmeans; and said conveyor drive means comprising two toothed wheels andtwo chain drive wheels and said at least one driveable transport vehiclecomprising two toothed racks, each said toothed wheel, each said chaindrive wheel and each said toothed rack being operatively associated witha related one of said two conveying chains during said load transferbetween said at least one driveable vehicle and said at least onereception station.
 6. The transport installation as defined in claim 4,wherein:said at least one reception station further comprises at leastone mobile tension arm connected at said stationary frame; said at leastone mobile tension arm carrying said coaxially arranged at least onetoothed wheel and at least one chain drive wheel; and said at least onemobile tension arm being displaceably arranged at said stationary framein order to tension said at least one conveying chain.
 7. The transportinstallation as defined in claim 1, wherein:said conveyor drive elementat said at least one driveable transport vehicle comprises at least onefriction surface extending thereat in the direction of said horizontaldisplacement; said conveyor drive means comprising at least one frictionwheel at said second end thereof; and said at least one friction wheelat said conveyor drive means being frictionally drivingly connected tosaid at least one friction surface at said at least one driveabletransport vehicle during said load transfer at said at least onereception station.
 8. The transport installation as defined in claim 1,wherein:said at least one driveable transport vehicle comprises atrack-suspended driveable transport trolley; said load support meanscomprising engageable and releasable attachment means for carrying saidload at said driveable transport trolley; and actuating means foractuating said attachment means in order to engage or release saidattachment means to or from said load.
 9. The transport installation asdefined in claim 8, wherein:said actuating means for actuating saidattachment means in order to engage or release said attachment means toor from said load are located at said at least one reception station;and said actuating means acting upon said attachment means at said atleast one driveable transport trolley during said load transfer at saidat least one reception station in order to release said attachment meansfrom said load during transfer of the same from said driveable transporttrolley to said load bearing portion of said endless conveyor and toengage said attachment means to said load during transfer of the samefrom said load bearing portion of said endless conveyor to said at leastone driveable transport trolley.
 10. The transport installation asdefined in claim 1, wherein:said conveyor drive means at said at leastone reception station comprise a free-wheel clutch mechanism; and saidfree-wheel clutch mechanism being operatively associated with said firstend and said second end of said conveyor drive means in order todrivingly connect said first end of said conveyor drive means to saidendless conveyor only in said preselected one of said two opposingdirections of horizontal displacement of said at least one driveabletransport vehicle.
 11. The transport installation as defined in claim 1,wherein:said at least one driveable transport vehicle is substantiallyhorizontally displaceable in said two opposing horizontal directions atfloor level; said at least one driveable transport vehicle defining alongitudinal axis; and said load support means extending symmetricallywith respect to said longitudinal axis of said transport vehicle. 12.The transport installation as defined in claim 5, wherein:saidstationary frame comprises two substantially parallel frame elements;each said frame element carrying a selected one of said two conveyingchains; and said two parallel frame elements being arranged in spacedrelationship with respect to each other to permit said at least onedriveable transport vehicle to pass therebetween during said loadtransfer at said reception station.
 13. The transport installation asdefined in claim 1, wherein:said conveyor drive element at said at leastone driveable transport vehicle extends laterally of said support means.14. The transport installation as defined in claim 4, wherein:said chainconveyor at said at least one reception station extends in the directionof said horizontal displacement of said at least one driveable transportvehicle; and said chain conveyor comprising at least two sprocket wheelsarranged at opposed ends thereof and guide means at which said inclinedload transfer portion of said chain conveyor branches off from said loadbearing portion thereof.
 15. The transport installation as defined inclaim 8, wherein:said conveyor drive means at said at least onereception station comprise a further chain conveyor defining said firstend and said second end of said conveyor drive means; and said furtherchain conveyor including a chain wheel located at said first end thereofand drivingly connected to said endless conveyor, a drive wheel at saidsecond end thereof and drivingly connectable to said conveyor driveelement at said at least one driveable transport vehicle, and a drivechain drivingly interconnecting said chain wheel and said drive wheel.16. The transport installation as defined in claim 15, wherein:saidchain wheel located at said first end of said further chain conveyor anddrivingly connected to said endless conveyor constituting guide means atwhich said load transfer portion branches off from said load bearingportion of said endless conveyor.